MAY/JUNE ACTIVITY REPORT
A joint meeting of the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission and the First Flight Federal Advisory Board was held May 20, 2003. The minutes to the meeting are posted on the Commission’s Web site at www.centennialofflight.gov/about/minutes/may20_03.htm. Many thanks to North Carolina for hosting the meeting at the new First Flight Centennial Pavilion.
Congratulations to everyone who worked tirelessly to make Fayetteville’s Festival of Flight, Space Day and Team America Rocketry Challenge huge successes!
Inventing Flight: Dayton 2003 opens July 3, 2003.
The Wright Experience’s reproduction of a 1911 Wright Model B crashed into a treetop May 19 near Warrenton, Va. Ken Hyde was treated for injuries, including a broken arm, and released from the hospital. We all send Ken our best wishes for a speedy recovery.
**Please continue to add your Centennial of Flight related events and activities to the Centennial calendar of events.**
Partnership Updates:
There will be a Women and Flight Portrait Exhibit on display at Wright Brothers National Memorial Visitor Center from June 12 to July 27.
EAA’s Countdown to Kitty Hawk Milestone Tour Stop will be in Dearborn, Mich., June 13-16 for Ford Motor Company’s 100th Anniversary Celebration
National Park Service Historian Darrell Collins will tell the story of the Wright brothers before the North Carolina General Assembly on June 17, 2003.
The Next Century of Flight Education Pavilion will not return to the Paris Air Show in 2003. The Next Century of Flight will still be represented at Paris during Aviation Week’s Top 100 Stars of Aerospace Gala on June 18.
Choreographer Elizabeth Streb’s POPAction athlete/dancers literally flew through the skies over North Carolina as Wolf Trap completed filming for Face of America 2003. Filming took place in May at Jockey’s Ridge State Park. A press conference at Wright Brothers National Memorial featured Terre Jones, president and CEO of Wolf Trap; Larry Belli, Superintendent of the Outer Banks Group, National Park Service; and Ms. Streb, who demonstrated flying (and falling!) techniques for reporters. The film is being edited and combined with live performance to create a new work to premiere at the 7,000 seat Filene Center at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts on September 6 as part of Face of America 2003: A Celebration of Flight. Honorary host for the evening is Senator John Warner. For tickets and further information, check the Web site at www.wolftrap.org.
Harrison Ford will be the Master of Ceremonies for The National Aviation Hall of Fame 2003 Pioneers of Flight Homecoming on July 19.
Centennial brochures will be given out at the August 1, 2003 NASA Night at the Bowie Baysox game. NASA, the NASA Federal Credit Union and the College Park Aviation Museum will host the game.
The Bob Hope Chapter of the Air Force Association (AFA) is sponsoring the 2003 California State AFA Convention. As part of its program, military and civilian personnel who have contributed to air and space industries and the advancement of air power will be recognized. The Commission is providing resources for the Military Awards Banquet at the March Field Air Museum.
The USAF Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base, Va., will hold its annual Intelligence Conference in August to recognize top performers. They will be using the Commission’s logo on the award plaques and possibly on the conference agenda.
Gus McLeod is on schedule for a Columbus Day (October 13) departure. His book was released last month by Smithsonian Press and received good reviews.
Staff from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum have many speaking engagements throughout the centennial year on the Wright brothers or aspects of the invention of the airplane. Some in June/July include:
June 9: Address to the Aero Materiel Conference, WPAFB, Ohio
June 14: Commencement speaker, Sinclair College, Dayton, Ohio
June 28: Jallonick Lecture, University of Texas
July 27: Keynote address to the International Association of Transport Museums, Dayton, Ohio.
NASA Langley Research Center and the Virginia Air & Space Center are presenting a lecture series “Celebrating 100 Years of Flight.” August 13, Jim Slade will present “One Hundred Years of Flying.” October 1, David Garrigus will present “Kitty Hawk: The Making of a Documentary.” November 5, Tom Crouch will present “Inventing Flight: The Science of Balloons, the Technology of Wings.” December 3, Betty Geiger-Darst will present “A Personal Account of the First Family of Aviation – The Wrights.”
Discovery Wings Channel has purchased 26 episodes of the series Legends Of Airpower, produced by Three Roads Communications, and has commissioned the production of an additional 26 new episodes.
Laughlin AFB, Texas, will be using the Commission’s logo for its upcoming Military Retiree Appreciation Event and centennial celebration.
The 172nd Airlift Wing in Jackson, Miss., is the first Air National Guard unit in the country to fly the C-17. They are planning an arrival ceremony for December 17, 2003 as part of the 100th anniversary of flight program.
The Air Force recruiters in Woodbridge, Va., would like to help promote awareness of the centennial of flight.
Outreach Activity:
A group of Russian students from the Moscow Aviation Institute will be making a flight from St. Petersburg to Moscow on the eve of St. Petersburg’s 300th anniversary. They will be using the Commission’s logo on a series of booklets and press kits, patches on the pilots’ and support crew’s suits, and stickers onboard the flight vehicle and support crew cars.
The States of Oklahoma and Arkansas have issued Executive Department Proclamations about the centennial of flight.
There will be a ‘Centennial of Flight’ Bus Tour sponsored by the Field of Firsts Foundation, Inc. to benefit the College Park Aviation Museum from June 25-30, 2003.
The University of Maryland Marching Band is planning on performing a show to celebrate the 100th anniversary of flight.
The Prescott Air Fair in Arizona will be using the Commission’s logo on their letterhead and posters.
The North Carolina National Guard is having a convention in September and may be distributing a lapel pin and shirts with the Commission’s logo on the state of North Carolina.
The Honorable Mike McIntyre of North Carolina gave a speech on May 15 to the House of Representatives titled “A Tribute to Fallen Aviators and Astronauts.”
The California Science Center is holding a centennial of flight event in the fall and will be using the Commission’s logo on its mailings.
Food Lion is interested in working with nonprofit organizations planning special events in which they could participate and give back to the communities they serve. The contact is Rita D. Roberson at rdroberson@foodlion.com.
The Taiwan-America Aeronautics and Space Technology Conference (TAASTC) in Huntington Beach, Calif., this fall will honor the pioneers in the field of aviation. Commission resources will be distributed at the Conference.
The keynote address at the MTU Aero Engines Summer Lecture Series at the Paris Air Show is entitled “Higher, Faster, and Farther: 100 Years of Powered Flight,” and will discuss the international nature of aviation by focusing on three significant case studies: the Wright brothers and the first airplane; Lindbergh and the technology of the aeronautical revolution; and the jet age.
AIA UPDATE, May 2003, has a feature on the “Milestones of the First Century of Flight – It Happened in May.” AIA Executive Report, Spring 2003, has a feature with photos about the Team America Rocketry Challenge and the Wright Flyer Exhibit at the New England Air Museum.
Pratt Whitney is producing a video for the centennial of flight. Some of the material for the video is from the Commission’s Web site.
The Kirkpatrick Science and Air Space Museum in Oklahoma City is using the Commission’s logo in its summer kids’ programs.
The Commission is providing brochures for the annual Dawn Patrol and Fly In, Civil Air Patrol training activities, two local libraries and the annual Michigan Chapter 99’s Small Rally.
The Iowa Department of Transportation is considering showing excerpts of our kick off video at its annual state aviation conference.
Centennial brochures and posters have been provided to several Cub Scout packs.
A Canadian gentleman is looking for centennial posters that could be used in a fundraising activity. He is putting together a special package of centennial of flight and air show posters.
Interagency Committee for Aviation Policy (ICAP) is planning to create a brochure “100 Years of Federal Aviation.” The brochure will display the Commission’s logo.
The Greater Miami Aviation Association is a civic organization founded in 1927 to support and encourage the aviation industry. At its awards banquet each year scholarships totaling $30,000 are awarded. These include the Wright Brothers Memorial Award (their highest) and the Glenn Curtiss Award.
The main theme of the Fargo AirSho this year is the centennial of flight. It will be using the Commission’s logo.
The Lake Land Composite Squadron, Civil Air Patrol, is hosting the 37th Johnson Flight encampment at the Coles County Airport, Mattoon, Ill. It is also the 50th anniversary of the Coles County Airport. The theme of the awards banquet this year is the 100th anniversary of flight.
The centennial of flight celebration, specifically “Wiley Post and the Winnie Mae,” will be the main theme of the Wheatheart Farms maze this year.
Articles/Interviews:
Provided information to the editor of Medios/Leon Publications in Florida. The company reaches out to Spanish speaking individuals.
Please see the attached media tracking report for recent media hits. If you have any questions about the report or would like to see full text articles, please contact CRT.
Press Releases:
A number of press releases have been issued recently and are available on the COFC Web site. Releases are posted on the home page as well as in the media section.
June 10, 2003 – American Idol Ray Charles To Perform at First Flight Centennial Celebration
June 9, 2003 – National Park Service Releases Ticket Sales Update for First Flight Centennial Celebration
June 6, 2003 – Rocky Mount-Wilson Regional Airport to Host Centennial of Flight Celebration Honoring Women in Aviation June 7-8, 2003
June 5, 2003 – Virginia Air and Space Center to Dedicate NASA F-18 Research Jet
June 4, 2003 – Women Aviators Exhibit to Open at Wright Brothers National Memorial
June 2, 2003 – Inventing Flight Announces Relationship with Dayton PR Organization
June 2, 2003 – U.S. Coast Guard Band to Perform at Wright Brothers National Memorial
May 29, 2003 – USAF Four-Star Gen. Lester L. Lyles Named Grand Marshal for “The Meijer 300 Presented by Oreo” at Kentucky Speedway
May 28, 2003 – Iowa Aviation Museum Honors Aviation Visionaries
May 27, 2003 – NASA Names New Chief of Staff
May 27, 2003 – U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission, Kestner Educational Services, LLC Sign Licensing Agreement
May 27, 2003 – Chief of Staff Courtney Stadd Announces Plans to Leave Agency
May 23, 2003 – AIAA/ICAS Major Technical Symposium Brings Together World Aerospace Leaders to Commemorate the Centennial of Flight – and Beyond
May 21, 2002 – U.S. Air Force Museum’s Third Building Nearing Completion
May 20, 2003 – AirsideTV.com Announces Upcoming Centennial of Flight Video Features
May 20, 2003 – The National Park Service and The National Air Tour 2003 Announce Plans for Stop at Wright Brothers National Memorial
May 20, 2003 – The USU Wright Flyer Takes to the Sky in Las Vegas
May 16, 2003 – Martha King to Fly California State Flag to Wright Brothers National Memorial as Part of “Fifty Flags to Kitty Hawk” Celebration
May 15, 2003 – Oklahoma Aviator Publishers Chosen for Kitty Hawk Flight
May 15, 2003 – New First Flight Centennial Pavilion to Open
Web site:
TIME has a special on its site at www.time.com/time/2003/flight/ dedicated to the people, planes and moments that changed history. We have added a link to the site on the COFC Web site.
The Web Enhancement procurement announcement closed May 2, 2003. The intent of this procurement is to obtain historical information regarding the Wright brothers that is credible, authentic, legitimate and educational for inclusion on the COFC Web site. The six proposals have been evaluated.
Jason Weems, editor of The Overmountain Press, is writing a book about Edward C. Huffaker, an assistant to Samuel P. Langley. He is using some of the resources available on the Commission Web site.
National Geographic has requested to use images found on the Web site.
Byron Preiss Visual Publications of NYC is working on a 12-book “Hot Sciences” series for children. They are using images from our Web site.
Information in the essay section of the Web site is being used in the second edition of The Satellite Communication Applications Handbook, to be published by Artech House.
RAND would like to use an image from our Web site on the cover of a report they are doing for the Department of Defense, “America’s Role in Nation-Building: From Germany to Iraq.”
Partners’ press releases have been added to the Web site. Please continue to send your press releases, and pictures if you have them, via e-mail to CRT to post on the site.
Educational Outreach Activities:
The Commission staff has been contacted by an extraordinary number of schools, including home schools, museums and libraries requesting copies of our educational resources and the exhibit. Examples include: Director of Education, Lincoln Children’s Museum, NE; The Children’s Museum of Green Bay, WI; Hands On Children’s Museum, WA; Children’s Museum of the Shoals, AL; the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum, PA; Children’s Museum of Montana, MT; Shalako Springs Academy, CA; Smith Academy, NY; Saddlepoint Kids’ School, AK; Shepherd’s Hill Academy, GA; Love Homeschool, GA; d’Vinci Interactive; Kings Kids Academy, OK; Peachtree Lane Homeschool, GA; Montessori Learning Academy, OK; Emmanual School, NC; Skylark Learning Center, NC; Briggs Lawrence County Public Library, OH; Susan S. Hsu – Son Rise Christian Academy, FL; Sandoval Elementary School, IL; Community Learning Institute, DE; North Carolina Maritime Museum, NC; Pine Drive Baptist School, Texas; LifeWay Christian School, NC; Watertown High School, CT; Bargerhuff Academy, IN; New Hampshire Supervisor, Educator Explorations, NH; Jordan Christian Academy, OK; VPA School, Puerto Rico; Alice E. Grady Elementary School, NY; McPherson Middle School, Learning Resource Center, OH; Heartsong Academy, CO; Odyssium, Canada; The Children’s Museum of Memphis; Garden State Discovery Museum, NJ; Dover Bluff School, GA; New Hope Christian Academy, NC; Coarsegold School, CA; Karsiyaka Redwood Learning Center, CA; Discovery Quest Homeschool, NY; H.L.C. Academy, MN; Hart Academy, NV; Nocar Christian Academy, WA; Maui Christian Academy, HI; Minges Christian School, NC; Seegmiller Academy, WA; First Baptist School, TX; Latrobe Education Center, PA; Bradbury Science Museum; Union Township School, NJ; Free Library of Philadelphia, PA; Rainbow Academy Homeschool, SC; the Digital Edge Project, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, VA; Roaring River Elementary, NC; Madison High School, ID; Booth Library at Eastern Illinois University; Clay Springs Elementary, FL; Keith Williams Academy, TX; The University of Texas at Austin Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics; Arlington Public Library, Texas; and Melrose High School, MA.
The 32-page brochure, Celebrating a Century of Flight, was featured in the June issue of Home Education Magazine’s online newsletter.
Identifying airplane templates for the COFC Web site that will be used to generate interest in COF through the development of activities for students. Efforts are also underway to align these activities with future educational demonstrations of a ten-inch Wright 1903 aeroplane by Astronaut Ed Lu on ISS.
Working with all NASA Field Centers and NASA HQs Codes R, N and P personnel to finalize the details for NASA’s participation in COF activities in Dayton, July 3-20 and Oshkosh, Wis., July 29-August 4. We are also continuing to work together to flesh out the details of additional COF related events including Rockefeller Center, LA County Fair and Shore Fest in Long Beach.
Supporting the Kite Festival taking place at Kitty Hawk June 16-17 that is sponsored by the National Park Service.
The Cleveland Public School system will be conducting a summer camp for 7th and 8th grade students at Cuyahoga Community College. The camp is entitled “Celebrating 100 Years of Flight in Ohio.” Commission educational resources have been provided.
NASA’s Texas Space Grant is conducting a Train the Trainer Teacher summer workshop in July at Space Center Houston. Its theme is “Exploring the Unknown,” and our centennial materials will be provided.
The second annual Kidsfest, a fun-filled educational day for kids and their parents, will take place September 27 in Rocky Mount, N.C. They will be publishing Mary Maden’s serial story “Dreams Come True: The Story of the First Flight.”
ACE 2003 (Aerospace Conference for Educators) will take place July 21 and will host more than 300 teachers from the state of Alabama.
Cozad, Neb., is planning a celebration of flight in October. They will be working with local schools to educate students about flight and the history of flight.
Cabarrus County Libraries and Carolina Mall, Concord, N.C., have partnered on a summer reading program entitled “Take Flight … Read.” Carolina Mall has brought in a replica of the Wright brothers’ glider to be hung from the Center Court ceiling. The Commission is providing materials to support the 1,500 children in the program.
Continue to work with the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy Dinner Committee in preparation for the December 12, 2003 event.
Completed Activities/ Events:
On June 4, NASA Langley Research Center and the Virginia Air & Space Center began their lecture series “Celebrating 100 Years of Flight” by featuring Colonel Jay Welsh who spoke about “Langley Field: The Early Years.”
The Wright B Flyer, Inc. organization flew around the Statue of Liberty in NYC on Memorial Day. Images are available at public.fotki.com/bluliker/wright_brothers_b/.
Wilbur and Orville Wright, who lived in Iowa, were among a group of four inductees honored by the Iowa Aviation Museum on May 31. Other inductees included Walter Cunningham, chosen as the lunar module pilot of Apollo VII, the Iowa's first astronaut, and Louis Schalk, the test pilot who was first to fly the A-12.
Two lectures on aerospace history were given at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. The Lindbergh Lecture on the Wright brothers was given on May 22, as well as astronaut Rick Hauck's talk on May 28, sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson Center.
On May 23, 2003, the Wright Brothers Statue was dedicated at the FlightScape Plaza on Deeds Point.
On May 22, 2003, the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum announced that the 1903 Wright Flyer would be lowered from the ceiling and displayed at eye level as the centerpiece of their centennial exhibition, “The Wright Brothers and the Invention of the Aerial Age.”
The FAA Centennial of Flight Awareness Event for May was speaker Mary Feik, First Woman Engineer in Air Technical Service Command’s Engineering Division at Wright Field.
On April 10, FAA Regional Administrator Chris Blum launched an initiative to encourage participation in COF activities by highlighting efforts and contributions during selected meetings with customers and users within Iowa, Kan., Mo. and Neb.
At the Homestead National Monument of America, Beatrice, Neb., on March 16,
National Parks Service Officials unveiled a banner saluting Evelyn Sharp
(1919-1944). This daughter of homesteaders and WW II ferry pilot is the
first aviator to join a prestigious list of Americans sharing a connection
to the Homestead Act of 1862 and was honored for making a difference throughout
the world.
Other:
Paul R. Dordal, Chief Operating Officer, Festival of Flight sent a note thanking everyone that helped make Festival of Flight a success!
Josh Brooks at Three Roads Communications has a new e-mail address: jbrooks@3roads.com.
The Space Day Foundation has moved into new offices. The new contact information is: Space Day Foundation, 1725 I Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20006. Phone number is 202-349-3755 and fax is 202-349-3756.
CRT has VHS tapes of the national kick off ceremony at the National Air and Space Museum. If you would like to purchase a tape of the ceremony, please contact Julie by phone (804-675-8167) or email (jbreissinger@crtpr.com.)